Anton A. Voytenko The Encomium to the Apostle and Evangelist Mark in Metropolitan Macarius’s Great Menaion Reader

Abstract

The article examines the anonymous Encomium to Saint Mark included in the “dossier” of Saint Mark in Metropolitan Macarius’s Great Menaion Reader under 25 April (Julian calendar). Two Byzantine encomia dating from the ninth and tenth centuries have survived, authored by the Constantinopolitan deacon and chartophylax Procopius and by Niketas David Paphlagon. The Church Slavonic Encomium is not a translation of either of these works. The two Byzantine encomia provide sufficient comparative material for examining the distinctive features of the Encomium’s topoi. Its author was undoubtedly guided by Byzantine models and was familiar, probably indirectly, with the Byzantine tradition concerning Saint Mark, as evidenced by a number of shared plots and themes. At the same time, his metaphors and antitheses lack the refinement and complex connotations found in the Byzantine authors. Unlike the latter, the Encomium has a distinctly “catechetical” character and contains clear anti-heretical emphases. It also differs from the two Byzantine encomia in genre, combining elements of martyrdom and panegyric and resembling the hagiographical homily, a genre widespread in Late Antiquity. The article hypothesises that the author of the Encomium may have been one of the representatives of the Tarnovo Literary School. One of the characteristic features of this school was precisely the composition of encomia combining elements of rhetorical and hagiographical texts. Another characteristic feature was its polemical engagement with heresies widespread in the Balkans, particularly Bogomilism. Further support for this hypothesis is provided by the author’s familiarity with the works of Theophylact of Ohrid. Works by representatives of the Tarnovo Literary School most likely reached Rus’ during the so-called Second South Slavic Influence, when contacts between Rus’ and literary and ecclesiastical centres in the Balkans intensified considerably, and one of its representatives, Cyprian Tsamblak, became Metropolitan of Kyiv in 1389–1406.

Keywords:

Apostle and Evangelist Mark; Byzantine literature; Tarnovo Literary School; Second South Slavic Influence; Metropolitan Macarius’s Great Menaion Reader; Slavic–Byzantine relations

For citation:

Anton A. Voytenko. The Encomium to the Apostle and Evangelist Mark in Metropolitan Macarius’s Great Menaion Reader. The Historical Reporter. 2026. Vol. 60. P. 200–221. DOI: 10.35549/HR.2026.2026.60.007

Received 10.05.2026. Revised 15.06.2026. Accepted 17.07.2026.

Anton A. Voytenko

D.Sc. (History), Leading Researcher, Center for Egyptological Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow, Russian Federation.

e-mail: voytenko@yandex.ru

SPIN-code: 6601-8960

AuthorID: 289756

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